The year was 1983, and Jacob Desvarieux was on tour with his French-Caribbean party band in Haiti when inspiration hit. Sitting inside a Port-au-Prince hotel, the singer-guitarist took pen to paper ...

His band, Kassav’, found millions of listeners as it held on to Caribbean roots while reaching out to the world. He died of Covid-19. By Jon Pareles Jacob Desvarieux, the guitarist and singer who led ...

Guitarist, singer and Kassav founding member Jacob Desvarieux died last month in Guadeloupe at the age of 65. Kassav, which was founded after he met with brothers George and Pierre Eduard Decimus in ...

Some bands become pillars of a genre, some redefine it, and others rise to the level of exemplar in their chosen style. He hasn’t taken any of the cultural shortcuts many stars opt for these days. And ...